Interesting Fact: The Chinese alligator is one of the world’s smallest crocodilians, reaching only two metres in length.

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The Chinese alligator is one of the most endangered crocodilians in the world. Once widely distributed throughout the eastern Yangtze River system in China, it is now mainly restricted to a small reserve in the Anhui Province of the lower Yangtze. The Chinese alligator inhabits temperate regions and spends six to seven months of the year hibernating in a complex underground burrow system. This species hunts at night, feeding mainly on aquatic molluscs such as snails and mussels, which it crushes in its teeth. Some fish, waterbirds and small mammals are also taken. The Chinese alligator nests between July and August, laying around 10 to 50 eggs in a mound nest constructed from plant materials. Although originally found in slow-moving rivers and swampy areas, the Chinese alligator is now restricted to agricultural pools within reserves.

The Chinese alligator population has undergone a severe decline, with surveys in 1999 finding only 130 to 150 wild individuals. The main cause of this decline is the conversion of wetlands to agriculture to support the region’s growing human population. The Chinese alligator also comes into conflict with farmers, as its burrows can cause drainage problems in fields and it may feed on farmers’ ducks. International trade in the Chinese alligator is banned under its listing on Appendix I of CITES, although the skin of this species is fairly worthless on the international market. Fortunately, captive breeding of Chinese alligators has been very successful, and a large captive population now exists. Some reintroductions have begun, and the Chinese government has allocated money towards the creation of new alligator habitat. It will also be important to educate local people about the importance of this secretive reptile.

The Endangered Yunnan snub-nosed monkey has received a welcome boost in south-western China thanks to conservation efforts, showing a 50% increase in numbers since the 1990s, according to Chinese state media.

Hunting is one of the major threats faced by the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey

Primate in peril

Also known as the black snub-nosed monkey, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is an inhabitant of south-western China’s high-altitude evergreen forests, where harsh environmental conditions prevail. At elevations between 3,000 and 4,500 metres, these forests suffer extreme weather, with temperatures falling below freezing for several months of the year.

As a result of hunting for food and its pelt, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey suffered massive declines, coming perilously close to extinction in the 1980s. Since then, authorities have taken action to help save this elusive primate, by enacting a hunting ban, confiscating hunting guns, establishing special protected areas and banning logging.

The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List

Conservation success

The concerted conservation efforts have not been in vain, with a survey launched last month discovering that there are now more than 3,000 Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys surviving in the high-elevation forests of China’s Yunnan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region. These figures are welcome news, given that there were fewer than 2,000 individuals present in the area in the 1990s. Figures from Yunnan’s Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve are particularly encouraging, showing a nine-fold increase compared to numbers in the protected area in 1987.